I have 3 strops (well actually 4, but 3 hanging strops). One is very fast/slick, just the way I like it. The other two are vintage, and I have treated them with neatsfoot oil, and they have a lot of draw to them. I would like to make them faster. What do I need to do to speed up/slick up the strops? Thanks in advance.
Changing a Strop's Characteristics
- Thread starter PapaFish
- Start date
It'd be nice to know the vintage strops involved--pix, manufacturers, descriptions, etc. A while back, I picked up a Walkin' Horse horsebutt from Jarrod over there in Jax Beach. At first, the skin was tight as was the draw. But following his recommendations, I applied neatsfoot oil, whereupon the draw picked up as the oil opened up the surface. Subsequent hand rubbing and stropping with pressure over a few months' time has sort of burnished the surface, making the draw speed up a bit. A very nice strop in its way now.
I know little about leather, so I'll leave it to the big boys here, but to draw an analogy from print-making, there are "hot press" and "cold press" papers. The former have lots of tooth, or grab, and the latter are smooth, the latter being achieved by calendering. Following this, I would suggest laying the strop on a flat surface and then running along the strop's length repeatedly with a rolling pin while applying pressure. This will at least start to calender it. Then repeatedly rub the strop's surface with your hand until both become hot from friction, and strop, strop, strop that thing with an old beater razor while applying a slight amount of pressure, so as to burnish the surface (of the leather), sort of as if you were seeking to smooth a rough stone for honing.
Just my two cents, as no one else has stepped up to the plate. The vintage strop I have is extremely slick, but also extremely worn, although its former owner left it without nicks. My sense has been that the slickness arrived with use, which seems to run contrary to your vintage strops having increased draw. Was that draw there before the neatsfoot oil was applied?
I know little about leather, so I'll leave it to the big boys here, but to draw an analogy from print-making, there are "hot press" and "cold press" papers. The former have lots of tooth, or grab, and the latter are smooth, the latter being achieved by calendering. Following this, I would suggest laying the strop on a flat surface and then running along the strop's length repeatedly with a rolling pin while applying pressure. This will at least start to calender it. Then repeatedly rub the strop's surface with your hand until both become hot from friction, and strop, strop, strop that thing with an old beater razor while applying a slight amount of pressure, so as to burnish the surface (of the leather), sort of as if you were seeking to smooth a rough stone for honing.
Just my two cents, as no one else has stepped up to the plate. The vintage strop I have is extremely slick, but also extremely worn, although its former owner left it without nicks. My sense has been that the slickness arrived with use, which seems to run contrary to your vintage strops having increased draw. Was that draw there before the neatsfoot oil was applied?
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- #3
Hmmm... I'll have to give the rolling pin/glass bottle trick a try. I'll get some pictures and better descriptions after I get home.
One is a mechanical strop that's really only good for a straight edged razor. It was in sore need of a good oiling (it could be over 100 years old, I think patented in 1912). I put a lot of neatsfoot oil on it and that restored it's pliability without requiring additional working. The leather is good, and I use it from time to time, but it's more of a novelty than anything, since it's faster for me to just strop on a hanging strop than to deal with this one. I figured if I could speed it up, it might make it more of a joy to use. I'm sure pictures will help explain how it works. I am sure some draw is still needed on the strop to make it work, but I would like to cut it down to whatever is the minimum that will keep it working.
The other is a nice hanging horse hide strop that was never used, or at the very least, used very lightly. The leather appeared to be completely unoiled when I got it, but there was a nick in the leather (that I still need to fix). It was stiff and needed worked. I used a bunch of neatsfoot oil and worked it a bunch to make it pliable. It now has such a strong draw that it rarely gets used. This is the one I really want to speed up, so I'll be inclined to use it more. It's wider than my Poor Man's Strop, and longer, too. Plus, it has a linen side that might be fun to use also. Oh, and it's nicer to look at
.
Second question, how do you soften up linen? Mine seems a lot thicker than I expected it to be, and since I'm pretty sure it's never been used, it's very stiff. Can I get it wet and work it by hand? Just work it by hand? It makes a very cool sound when using, but I don't know that it's doing anything other than that. I don't plan on putting an abrasive on it, just keeping it clean.
One is a mechanical strop that's really only good for a straight edged razor. It was in sore need of a good oiling (it could be over 100 years old, I think patented in 1912). I put a lot of neatsfoot oil on it and that restored it's pliability without requiring additional working. The leather is good, and I use it from time to time, but it's more of a novelty than anything, since it's faster for me to just strop on a hanging strop than to deal with this one. I figured if I could speed it up, it might make it more of a joy to use. I'm sure pictures will help explain how it works. I am sure some draw is still needed on the strop to make it work, but I would like to cut it down to whatever is the minimum that will keep it working.
The other is a nice hanging horse hide strop that was never used, or at the very least, used very lightly. The leather appeared to be completely unoiled when I got it, but there was a nick in the leather (that I still need to fix). It was stiff and needed worked. I used a bunch of neatsfoot oil and worked it a bunch to make it pliable. It now has such a strong draw that it rarely gets used. This is the one I really want to speed up, so I'll be inclined to use it more. It's wider than my Poor Man's Strop, and longer, too. Plus, it has a linen side that might be fun to use also. Oh, and it's nicer to look at
.Second question, how do you soften up linen? Mine seems a lot thicker than I expected it to be, and since I'm pretty sure it's never been used, it's very stiff. Can I get it wet and work it by hand? Just work it by hand? It makes a very cool sound when using, but I don't know that it's doing anything other than that
. I don't plan on putting an abrasive on it, just keeping it clean.It would be great to see the pix. For cleaning leather, there are some creams and balms that leave a slicker surface than neatsfoot oil, which increases the draw, especially when used heavily. A local shoe repairman here recommended some Meltonian leather balm to me, which I have used without incident, applying it with a soft rag. Worked great, and the surface was slick afterwards. There is an article on restoring a strop on the B&B wiki as well, which may help.
The linen sounds like an old piece of firehose--can it be opened to form a tube at one end? Some of those can seem pretty rough. I have one that I would never do more than 5 laps with. If it's dirty, it can be soaked in a small tub with cold water and a little bit of Woolite and scrubbed with a tooth brush. Maybe adding a fabric softener would help here, if that's what you're after. The important thing is to dry the linen strop flat between two layers of towel with a relatively heavy weight (e.g., old encyclopedias) on it. That way it'll dry completely flat. Leave it undisturbed for around 24-48 hours (depending on the climate) to give it time to dry like this. (Forget about any branding information though, if soaking, as this will float off.)
The linen sounds like an old piece of firehose--can it be opened to form a tube at one end? Some of those can seem pretty rough. I have one that I would never do more than 5 laps with. If it's dirty, it can be soaked in a small tub with cold water and a little bit of Woolite and scrubbed with a tooth brush. Maybe adding a fabric softener would help here, if that's what you're after. The important thing is to dry the linen strop flat between two layers of towel with a relatively heavy weight (e.g., old encyclopedias) on it. That way it'll dry completely flat. Leave it undisturbed for around 24-48 hours (depending on the climate) to give it time to dry like this. (Forget about any branding information though, if soaking, as this will float off.)
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- Thread starter
- #5
I'll see what I find out after I get home. I don't think it's hose, but I'm relying on my memory at the moment.
There is a leather conditioner called Zymol (the o has an umlaut but I can't type one of those on a US keyboard) that will 'slick up' a strop something fierce. It is a water based product that contains soap, glycerin and whatever else; it will soften and help preserve the leather but leaves a pretty slick surface behind. It comes in a pump bottle but I usually just pour some on a paper towel and wipe the strop down until the leather is evenly wet. Let it dry overnight and check it the next day.
You can also soak two paper towels with 91% rubbing alcohol, rub the strop down with that until it is evenly damp all across the surface, and that will draw out some of the oil from the surface and make a strop faster (less draw).
To add draw you can use oil as you have done or tallow based shaving lather.
Sanding the strop will yield a very different feel too- depending on what grit sandpaper you use and how you actually do the sanding. Most people scuff them up by hand but an orbital sander using 220 grit paper will leave behind an almost suede surface, just like Russian finished strops (they run the strops over a rough drum to roughen the surface). A coat of Zymol after the sanding and you will have a strop with medium draw and a lot of feedback.
Leather isn't magic and there are lots of ways to temper the stuff to behave more like you want it to behave.
Brian
You can also soak two paper towels with 91% rubbing alcohol, rub the strop down with that until it is evenly damp all across the surface, and that will draw out some of the oil from the surface and make a strop faster (less draw).
To add draw you can use oil as you have done or tallow based shaving lather.
Sanding the strop will yield a very different feel too- depending on what grit sandpaper you use and how you actually do the sanding. Most people scuff them up by hand but an orbital sander using 220 grit paper will leave behind an almost suede surface, just like Russian finished strops (they run the strops over a rough drum to roughen the surface). A coat of Zymol after the sanding and you will have a strop with medium draw and a lot of feedback.
Leather isn't magic and there are lots of ways to temper the stuff to behave more like you want it to behave.
Brian
I'm fine with sanding the surface of vegetable-tanned pieces intended for machinery-belt use and with old loom strops caked up with old pastes to be repasted afterwards. But vintage treated leather I would be inclined to leave as is, provided that the surface is still intact.
- Thread starter
- #8
What type of zymol do you have? I see auto waxes, glass cleaners, anti-glare liquids...
I think I will start out rolling it and see if it helps. It seems the least invasive. I also have some neatsfoot oil mixed with beeswax, so I could give that a shot. I am sure the wax would slick thing up like nobody's business. I'm not really inclined to scuff up my Illinois strop, but my old Poor Man's... well, we'll see.
Pictures
The linen is definitely heavy grade, but I really don't think it's firehose. It's stitched on both sides. I can try for better pictures showing the thickness of the linen. I'll probably leave this alone for the moment, since I haven't used linen in the past, it's not a great loss if I don't use this one immediately.
I think I will start out rolling it and see if it helps. It seems the least invasive. I also have some neatsfoot oil mixed with beeswax, so I could give that a shot. I am sure the wax would slick thing up like nobody's business. I'm not really inclined to scuff up my Illinois strop, but my old Poor Man's... well, we'll see.
Pictures
The linen is definitely heavy grade, but I really don't think it's firehose. It's stitched on both sides. I can try for better pictures showing the thickness of the linen. I'll probably leave this alone for the moment, since I haven't used linen in the past, it's not a great loss if I don't use this one immediately.
If the rest of the linen is like that, I wouldn't touch it. Looks fine. Some sort of waxing might help the leather surface there. I have used Malm's concentrated carnuaba wax on the surface of Horween cordovan, following Jarrod's recommendations, and this seems to help. Apply a light amount with a lightly moistened sponge, let it haze over, and then buff it gently with a soft cotton cloth. Haven't tried the Zymol, but that sounds interesting.
- Thread starter
- #10
Yes, the linen all looks like that, super clean, just stiff. I wondered if it would loosen up with use, but haven't given it much of a try. It makes a cool "vweep, vweep" sound when stropping on it, which puts a smile on my face even if it does nothing to the edge.
I think I'll warm some of the beeswax/neatsfoot oil mix between my fingers and rub it into the leather. I don't think it should take much. I'll focus on getting the one up and running like I want, then tackle the mechanical strop. I'll get some pictures up of that one, maybe tomorrow.
Thank you guys!
I think I'll warm some of the beeswax/neatsfoot oil mix between my fingers and rub it into the leather. I don't think it should take much. I'll focus on getting the one up and running like I want, then tackle the mechanical strop. I'll get some pictures up of that one, maybe tomorrow.
Thank you guys!
The leather cleaner. It is in a spray bottle, is translucent and tan in color. Wipe the strop down, work the stuff into the leather the best you can and the wipe as much as possible off the leather. Let it hang overnight. The leather will have a sheen to it and will be quite slick, and the leather will be softer also.
The stuff I have used looks like this: http://www.pepboys.com/product/details/256883/
The stuff I have used looks like this: http://www.pepboys.com/product/details/256883/
